Another Boring Night
by Little Girl Geek
Summary: Sokka finds that routine and pointless squabbles have overtaken the lives of the gaang. But what happens when a fight comes to Sokka- and one person doesn't leave? Oneshot. Zukka fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N::** Whew! All that work and serious lovin' from the PREVIOUS Airbender fic, I just had to try something new! So here it is-- first attempt at a Zukka fic.

LOL For all the fear I had in trying it, thinking it wouldn't work and the story would fall through before it finished, it came out pretty well. I'm satisfied with it.

I hope you are too. ^^ Drop me a Review, tell me watcha think, and what I should do next!

Enjoy!

* * *

"W-wait! I didn't mean--"

"LOOK at this! Look what you did!!"

"I didn't mean to! Katara!"

Sokka's ears perked at the sudden break in his quiet evening. Before he could even turn he knew exactly what was about to happen-- Katara would storm in yelling, Zuko after her, Aang after him. Momo scurried in through the doorway with a loud hiss and took refuge under the warrior's chair.

Cue Katara's entrance.

True to his first assumption, his little sister marched through the archway and across the kitchen in a huff, shoulders high and fists clenched at her sides. Everything about her, from the way she breathed to the way she moved screamed 'hostile.' As much as he wanted to duck under his chair with Momo, the sight was becoming so familiar that he already knew how it would end. He turned in his chair away from the table and toward the yelling match, preparing himself in case sparks- or more likely, kitchen tools- began to fly.

Katara' stopped dead in her tracks, turned on her heels and faced the heir of fire hastening after her. "Didn't MEAN TO?? You BURNED a hole in my waterskin!! I can't heal that!!"

The sudden stop almost knocked Zuko into her, but he managed to save himself anymore trouble and came to a quick halt. Normally he would continue apologizing, but this time it just felt a little bit _too_ over the top to let pass. In exasperation, he threw his hands in the air, his good eye bugging at her obvious bias. "You _attacked _me!!"

"Are you saying this is _my_ fault??"

Lips clamped shut. Her eyes were slits and her face dared him to put her on the spot. Wrong move- Zuko had pinned himself in a corner. Between apologizing and pressing on, there was no longer a way to win the fight, which, he reminded himself, he hadn't even started in the first place. After a moment of struggling with himself, he took a deep breath and steam poured from his mouth, but he found himself able to face her. Sokka couldn't help but roll his eyes-- this is how it always ended. Though, in Zuko's defense, this was the first time he was able to look her straight in the face after her accusation.

"...No. I'm sorry."

Katara glared straight through his apology, but sighed. With a small huff and a glance back at Aang (who was approaching quickly from the previous hall), she threw the dripping waterskin into his chest and turned again, her bushy mane of tangles stinging across his face.

"If it's not good as new by the time you bring it back to me, you'll have more than just a waterskin to sew up."

With that final bitter remark, she thrust her nose in the air and marched away, back out of the kitchen and onto the balcony before slipping around the corner and out of sight.

The kitchen was filled with a collective sigh and the two remaining found themselves staring at one another. Zuko's face flushed-- he hadn't seen Sokka, let alone known he was there for the fuss. Saving him with a distraction, Aang finally glided in from the hall and stopped, placing a comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. The older teen smiled weakly at him and received an encouraging smile and a warm squeeze on the shoulder before the monk was out the other door and rounding the corner, calling after Katara pleadingly.

Sokka sniggered to himself. Or he would have. If it were still funny. Sadly, even he knew that a joke was only good so many times. After the hundredth time in one week, it became a lot like beating a dead dragon-- pointless and tiring. By now, watching Katara torture the newest member of their little gang was neither funny nor entertaining; Now it was just sad. The firebender stared at the doorway his pupil and his rival (Was she technically a rival?) had exited from only seconds ago.

Well. Show was over. Sokka turned back to the table and leaned over his plans, brushing away Momo's tail as it whisked across the parchment. Everything would quickly return to normal: boring, tiresome, semi-quiet normal. Katara would steam in the neighboring temple, Aang would attempt to coax her into an apology, Zuko would go sulk somewhere. And Toph. Toph would do.... Toph-like things.

A normal evening.

Zuko sighed again and turned behind Sokka, but didn't leave. It always took him a few seconds to walk off. He was probably deciding whether to storm off steaming or run off teary-eyed, Sokka mused. His brush flicked over the paper, leaving a long, broad-middled stroke on the aged sheet and lifted it off to examine his work admiringly. His lines no longer shook and his characters had more depth then before. Momo pawed at Aang's arrow, gurgling at what appeared to him to be an apple with a thick stem.

"...Why does she hate me so much?"

The brush went askew and crashed into the table, leaving a streak of black and smeared gray behind. Zuko hadn't moved at all-- and had nearly given Sokka a heart attack when he finally voiced what was holding him back. Sokka huffed angrily at his ruined masterpiece, but recognized a serious question when he heard one.

"What do you mean?" He answered tactfully-- he didn't want to get carried away; Zuko only needed to know so much. If he didn't have to know the entirety of the situation, Sokka wasn't gonna take the time or effort to tell him.

"Well, you're her brother," to his surprise, Zuko had managed to slip over to the table silently and was pulling out the chair beside him. 'Light on his feet'... what an understatement. He could rival Aang with a little practice.

Sokka waited, but the firebender was long settled into his seat and no continuation seemed to be coming. "...And?"

"You're her big brother," He began again, like the 'big' really meant something. "So why does she hate me so much?"

Apparently there was no way to get to the heart of the question without treading dangerous waters, so Sokka started small. Cautiously, he set down his brush in the crack next to his abstract scribbles and turned toward Zuko. "Hate is such a _strong_ word.."

"Yes, it is, and that's the problem."

So he wasn't blind in BOTH eyes. Good to know. The Eskimo sighed and put up his hands defensively. "Alright, yeah, she hates you. A lot."

Zuko slumped back in his chair in agitation. "So what do I do?"

The room grew quiet again. This was awkward. He had never really talked to Zuko before-- more than to make fun of him of course. I mean, who could pass up a good jerkbending joke? NO ONE, that's who. But now the two teens sat alone in the silence, basking in the uncomfortable stiff air that had filled the kitchen since Zuko had cozied into the chair next to the rabid Penguin's big brother.

Sokka sighed and turned back to his work, tapping the bottom of his brush in rhythmic clicks on the table. "I dunno. Have you tried groveling?"

"I'm _serious_-"

"Okay, okay! It was a joke!" Sokka's hands went up in defense again, brushing the blackened bristles against his face unintentionally- ink smudged clear up his jaw and over his cheekbone.

Zuko snorted quietly, trying to keep from embarrassing the other too much before producing a clean silk cloth from his pocket and offering it to the fool before him. The gift was received gratefully and Sokka began to think again, 'Hmm'ing loudly as he rubbed the stain from his face.

"Maybe you should try a 'stache. Seems to be working for Haru..."

The serious expression on his face as he rubbed the splotch was chuckle-worthy, but Zuko held it in-- he really was, honest and truly, determined to get the watertribe girl to like him. Or at least _tolerate_ him. This constant warzone had to disappear if he was to be Aang's teacher.

"Can't," He finally answered the silly suggestion.

"Can't?"

"Can't."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Huh," Sokka grunted quietly, leaning back as if to get a better look at Zuko. "I dunno, I just always figured, with your Dad's fine face-mane, you'd have to shave like nonstop."

"Nahh. Mom's genes."

"Huh."

Silence.

The air grew stiffer and the table more awkward as they glanced at each other, away, around the room and then back. Sokka couldn't help but think that the room was getting smaller and smaller. Zuko just seemed to loom closer even though he hadn't moved an inch. Maybe 'awkward' wasn't a strong enough word.

Now that he thought about it, Sokka had really never stopped to examine Zuko. The older boy was tall, he knew, but aside from that he was just a pale blur. Now, though, all of his features seemed magnified in definition. His jawline was angular and tight, pulsing with tense energy. His eyes weren't really yellow, but more a bronzy-gold color against the clay-tan kitchen; His skin seemed several shades lighter under the poor lighting and odd colors. His muscle mass wasn't what Sokka remembered-- he was small. Lean. Gangly, even, almost the same shape as Aang if a little bigger. For some reason, he seemed very similar to the little Monk...

"So..."

The sound startled him awake. His voice wasn't as gravelly and rough as Sokka remembered, either. All of him just seemed... Softer.

Sokka cleared his throat and looked back down at the table. "So."

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

Zuko leaned forward this time-- Now Sokka was truly trapped, pinned between the older bender and the table. If the air was stiff _before_... Not even the size of the room held merit under this new development.

One thing Sokka was sure he'd never noticed?

The hunger.

All of Zuko's actions and words and little glances-- it felt so silly now, like it was the most obvious thing in the world-- how all of Zuko's actions had such drive behind them. Even the small move from his chair to simply leaning forward into Sokka's face was a swift move full of determination and carefully hidden desire. Everything he did, he did for a reason.

So the real question was: Who here was putting on a farce?

Sokka cleared his throat once. Twice. Four times? He wasn't counting. Gold beads held all of his attention, daring him to break the gaze. "W-well..." His voice started out hoarse. Embarrassed, face burning at that little smirk before him, he cleared his throat and tried once more, willing himself to sound like a man. THE man. The one he knew he was, he reminded himself weakly.

"I-I think you're... I mean, if Aang--"

"No," Zuko cut him off, smirking, grinning, almost teasing him. "What do YOU think?"

Sokka swallowed the lump in his throat, wishing he could melt into the table. "I... Well..."

"Yes?"

A lie would only throw him in deeper, he sensed. With a small sigh and a less-than-powerful breath, he closed his eyes and broke away from the gaze.

"You're a goodguy."

More silence.

So much silence.

But this time it was not tense or stiff. This time it was almost.... comfortable. Like sleeping under a tree in a vast green field. Somehow, everything was just completely relaxed.

Zuko laughed first. Then Sokka followed suit, if only nervously. The laugh drawled off into a smile-- an honest smile at that. Sokka stared-- it was like looking straight into the rising sun.

"A goodguy."

It was like he was echoing the words to make sure they were real. Trying them on, seeing how they fit. A smile molded carefully back onto his face and he gave it to Sokka warmly.

"Is it weird?" To Sokka's surprise, his own voice seemed very small.

"It's a good weird," Zuko assured. He put a hand to his mouth-- Sokka hadn't noticed his trembling shoulders until he did. The firebender lifted his hand from the table beside Sokka and pushed himself back into his chair.

Sokka examined the face under the hand in scrutiny. His shoulders shook. His hand covered his mouth like he was about to be sick but... Was that a smirk?

"Are you LAUGHING?"

His exasperation wasn't enthusiastic enough. Not far-fetched enough. In fact, the whole situation didn't seem quite surreal enough to actually be happening. The ex-fireprince, the one with no smile, Scars McScaryFace, Mr. I'm-Never-Happy... was laughing.

At Sokka.

Now it was Zuko's turn to be embarrassed. His porcelain pale cheeks tinted pink and he looked away, but the shoulders continued to shudder and quake in strain. The effort it took him not to laugh was overwhelming. "N-No..." He stood abruptly and turned further away from Sokka.

Sokka stood as well-- he clearly had something to say. And maybe if Sokka could get him to look, he'd really honestly laugh. Zuko began slowly, pulling his hand carefully away from his lips before mumbling.

"T-thanks..."

He began shaky, but his confidence built quickly and he turned to face Sokka with a nervous, but solid- smile.

"Sokka."

His name.

Was that his name? It sounded so different when Zuko said it. _Sokka_... Almost proper. Classy. How could anyone make the name Sokka sound _classy?_ Maybe that was just the way Zuko said names. Maybe he just had that effect on words.

Sokka stood dumbfounded long enough for Zuko to lean back toward him and give his wolftail a yank, snapping him back to reality. "Thanks, Sokka."

Playful Zuko was creepy. Or maybe just strange. Odd. Yeah, odd. It was just 'odd' to see Zuko acting like that. Still, Sokka's hand shot up to his little warrior's knot and matted the hair back down when the firebender released it. Zuko was staring at him nervously, waiting for a reply.

It took a moment for him to get the hot feeling on his face to settle. Had Zuko's hands brushed by his face when he wasn't looking, or was the room still getting smaller? He felt his cheeks cooling by the second and he found himself smiling at the prince. Maybe the Jerkbender was more than just a goodguy. Maybe he was a GREAT guy, even.

Sokka cleared his throat- good or not, this sudden moment was still awkward, and would continue that way until it ceased altogether. Sokka mustered his best, sincerest small smile and offered it to Zuko. "Any time."

Any time? He had planned for a "You're welcome." Why had 'Any time' Come out?

Zuko's smile widened and he nodded before carrying himself in his usual proud manner down the hall. Sokka stayed, planted on the spot, staring at the archway until he heard a door close in the distance. When his thoughts found him still in the kitchen, he turned back to the table, sat down, and scooted his seat in. He picked up his brush, but his fingers couldn't seem to find the right grooves.

Just another quiet evening...

* * *

Well, there it is!

If you see any common, stupid, or otherwise mistakes, send me a message so I can fix it! If I read back through later and find them myself I'll be completely distraught. lol

I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for your support and I hope you come back for more! ^^

-Little Girl Geek


	2. Chapter 2

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! I am tickled and flattered by everyone that reviewed or faved my story!

Special thanks to Ace Please who made my day. x3 Your words are too exciteably kind~

And because I had several folks who asked for more, here it goes! Hope it meets your standards. =] R&R!

* * *

Zuko continued on down the dark hall until the distant tapping of Sokka's brush faded away and his own footsteps were the only sound left. For a second, it seemed like even they were falling away; for that matter, the whole hallway seemed to disappear. The only thing that really existed was the jagged, harsh thumping in his chest and the frown he felt mold over his flushed face.

Had he just... come _on_ to _Sokka? _Or better yet, had he done so _outloud?_ His whole body screamed in horror, but his mouth remained sealed tight and his feet continued forward mechanically with some secret, personal agenda. His pace quickened suddenly as he tried to recount what had happened.

He got close. His face- the little trace of a bright light back in those big, stupidly confused eyes. He remembered watching the muscles in Sokka's neck pull nervously, the way his lips twitched when Zuko drew close. He could have reached out at any moment, so close, he could almost feel the boy infront of him again-

"Woah woah, Sparky! Where's the fire?"

His arms reacted on the spot- one reached out to brace himself on the wall and the other looped around the shoulder of the small, gruff blind girl he had so carelessly knocked into. She quickly regained her balance, but kept her grip on Zuko out of shock.

Zuko stared down at her, his own muscles tense. "S-sorry," He said quickly. Somehow, be it because he had burned her or because she so often had that unshakeable stance, he found himself very much wanting to avoid offending her. Not out of fear (or in Katara's case, annoyance,) but by an odd sort of respect he had grown for her in the few days they'd lived under the same banner.

Toph unclenched her fingers and loosened up her shoulders sportingly, dusting off her big, loose sleeves in a staggering display of high-handedess- Zuko would never say it out loud, but you could almost smell the highclass upbringing. At least, if you could ever got past the feet.

"Well, Sparks, I heard you coming, but I thought for sure you could see better than me," She remarked dully. Zuko sighed, his head hanging.

"Sorry.."

To his surprise, Toph looked at him, or rather, inclined her head toward him, with a questioning frown. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

Genuine concern? He wasn't sure if she was bad at it or just unique in her wordchoice, but he took the question to heart. His face heated again immediately and he looked on down the hallway toward his room. "N-nothing. Just tired."

Toph's know-it-all hum rang in his red ears. "Ah. Tired," she confirmed with a small not of her head.

"Yep."

"Any specific reason?"

Zuko closed his eyes and turned his eyes to the ceiling. "...Long day?" Couldn't she just let him be?

"I see."

The two stood in silence for a much shorter time then Zuko expected before Toph continued, "For an exiled prince of evil, you sure aren't much of a liar."

"Look, I don't particularly want to talk to you about this-"

"Ohh, but you DO, Sparky," Toph cut him off with a smirk as she leaned forward and thumbed at the hem of his shirt.

"...What?"

"It's okay to be freaked out. I would be too if something like THAT happened to ME."

Zuko's eyes widened in horror. "WHAT?"

Toph turned calmly and leaned herself against the wall beside him, staring blankly with her perfect useless eyes into the opposite wall. She could feel Zuko's heart race and slow in no particular rhythm- it was like listening to Momo fight with a turtleduck. A little giggle in the back of her throat threatened to reveal itself but she cleared her throat.

With a toss of her head and a mocking flick of the wrist, she turned and began in the opposite direction, her haughty, sarcastic voice drifting back to him. "Ohh, nothing. Just talking to myself."

Zuko felt the fire in his cheeks when that barely audible mumble reached his ears- "Zuko and Sokka, sittin in a tree..."

With a sudden burst of energy, and the complete loss of any maturity in him, Zuko took off down the hall after the now trotting, cackling girl.

"W-wait, Toph!"


	3. Chapter 3

ABN Chapter 3

A/N: OHMYGOD GUYS! This was supposed to be a one-shot!

And look at us now. 3 chapters. We are blessed and confused and flattered, we are.

Thank you all VERY much for your reviews! They fill me with fuzzlings and joy! I can't thank you enough!

SO. I really seriously did intend for this to be a one shot... and my first chapter is still definitely the best.

But I'll give a third chapter a go... Since you all are so supportive about it.

I aim to please. ;)

Anyway. I hope you enjoy! 3

Life continued as per usual in the temple; Sokka woke up the next morning a bit after dawn, stretched until he felt a less than comfortable pop, and proceeded out of his room and toward the kitchen.

Katara greeted him warmly upon his arrival, and then with a bit of disapproval as he pulled out a chair and kicked his feet up onto the table. She huffed, but turned back to her sizzling pan on the stove.

"Can't you show some manners for once? We're going to be eating on that table, you know."

Sokka simply shrugged his shoulders and yawned exaggeratedly. Toph and Aang arrived shortly through the same hall, both wide awake, but still slightly disheveled.

"Gooooood morning, sleepyheads," Sokka rang in a singsong voice. Toph shoved his chair a bit more forcefully than necessary as she passed, and climbed into her chair as he fell sideways with his. The warrior and his chair both timbered to the floor like a tree in a windstorm, resolutely and unprepared.

A usual morning. Sokka grabbed his chair and sprang to his feet, rounding on her. "Do you have to be so ROUGH all the time?"

Aang laughed lightheartedly, opposite of Toph at the table. Sokka could almost HEAR his sister rolling her eyes at them, and Toph's snarky reply-

Wait.

Where was Toph's snarky reply?

His eyes darted to her expectantly, but she wore a challenging poker face. Sokka raised an eyebrow at her- she ALWAYS had a snarky reply. Surely something like his own lame comment hadn't hurt her feelings?

She stared through him only a moment longer before REALLY surprising him. He expected a snide comment. Or maybe she'd ignore his lashing out. Hell, maybe she'd even play the ever-charming 'innocent blind girl' routine she was so fond of.

Instead, he got a smirk.

Not a winner's smirk like she usually wore. Her victories usually came with one of those. But this one was different.

This was a KNOWING smirk. Like she was laughing at her own private little joke.

Sokka didn't like that. Suddenly he felt violated.

Why was she making that face?

"Breakfast is served! Did you all wash your hands?"

"Just give us the food, _Mom," _Toph commented impatiently, bending the clay plate Katara was presenting out of her hands and carefully over to the table. The moment was forgotten and everyone quickly snatched up the food before Katara could stop them. She, too, resigned and sat down at the table, reaching her fork into the center of the table for her own piece of... whatever the vegetable she had fried was.

A noise behind him started Sokka and he turned toward the balcony. Much to his surprise, Zuko was walking across the concrete platform, shaking out his hair with a towel. Immediately Sokka's feet were off the table and he straightened his chair to bend over his food.

"Heyy, Sparky! If you don't hurry, your crappy food'll get cold!"

Katara shot Toph a dirty look over the table and became as aggresively interested in her food as Sokka. Zuko was in the room before either of them realized it. He spread his towel over the back of the chair at the end of the table opposite of Sokka and pulled the chair out.

"My food never gets cold."

As he sat down in his chair, he looked up and across the table, catching Sokka's eyes the second the watertribe boy looked up.

Sokka felt his face heat and saw Zuko's do the same. Oh, good. He hadn't been dreaming. That wouldn't make the day any more awkward or anything.

Somehow he couldn't break that gaze. It was almost like he wanted those eyes to talk to him- they looked embarrassed, but also a bit intrigued... like something new had caught his interest.

Toph chuckled quietly to herself and cleared her throat. Zuko's eyes pulled away from Sokka's and glided over to Toph before plummeting to his empty plate. He reached to the middle of the table for his own portion, careful not to look back up.

So in fact, it certainly wasn't 'as per usual.' Something was strange. Something was entirely different. And at least until noon, it didn't seem to be something that they could just shake off.

So the group ate in surprising silence until Aang finished his food and gave a rousing peptalk about the day's schedule. Thankfully, Sokka noted, it was fairly normal for Aang- one of his 'we'll train and train until its time to beat the firelord' talks, which seemed to be a staple of almost every meal.

"I think today, though, we should try something new."

All eyes darted to Toph, who had unexpectedly stopped shoveling food into her mouth in the midst of Aang's speech. She abandoned her fork in her plate and folded her hands on the table in a businessy, faux-serious manner.

"Why don't we switch up our sparring partners for the day? We can't begin to dream of taking on the Firelord without proper communication between all of us. Teamwork has to happen."

Her eyes didn't wave from Aang's face, but a smirk slowly molded onto her face. Zuko's eyes grew accusing and suspicious as he watched her, but Aang was completely sucked into her scheme. He jumped out of his chair excitedly, beaming and grinning wildly.

"That's a great idea, Toph!" His exclamation was childish and bright as his wide grey eyes. He looked around at the rest of his team, still completely missed the anxiety on two of the surrounding faces. "She's right. We have to be able to work together like a team. Like a family if we really want this to work! How can we bring down the Fire Nation if we're divided among ourselves?"

Katara rolled her eyes and shot a glare at Zuko, who in turn was staring suspiciously at Toph. Sokka took note of this funny picture- Katara who glared at Zuko who glared at Toph, and Aang who was none the wiser about the silent war going on at his table.

Something was amiss.

Why was Zuko so angry with Toph?

What horrible thing did Toph-

Oh.

Aang continued excitedly on his new tangent. "Alright! Soo today, Zuko and Katara will train together, and-"

"Now, hold on there, Twinkletoes." Zuko's eyes grew wide in horror as her previous smile worked back onto her pale face, "I think Zuko and Sokka should spend the day together."

OH. Sokka stood up so fast his chair flipped back- it was much louder than he thought, until he realized Zuko's chair had falled, too. The two made eyecontact, surprised by one another, but Zuko's face pinked and he rounded on Toph.

"Toph!"

Aang saw no problem still. How could a child so dense really be the Avatar of legend? "Why? I mean... Zuko and Katara definitely have the most trouble communicating."

"Understatement," Katara mumbled through her teeth, but Zuko continued to pay her no mind. He tried his hardest, seemingly forgetting she was blind, to glare daggers into Toph as she continued.

"C'mon, Sparky and the Sugarqueen would kill each other in the first hour. And think about it, Aang," Sokka noted the playful change in her tone as she continued, her dead eyes shifted to him. "'Zuko and Sokka' just isn't something you'd expect to hear. Like the two are never together. We need to make sure they can... coexist."

It was Sokka's turn to pink, and his mouth opened and closed several times before clamping resolutely shut.

Zuko could have murdered Toph. Really, though. He could very easily imagine slipping his hands around her tiny little throat and rattling that head of hers around until her senses came back. What exactly was she trying to pull? Did she really think she could just change the whole routine of Aang's training?

Aang took a moment and nodded, looking at the ground with an odd brand of surprise on his face. "Huh. I guess you're right."

Sokka's head snapped around to the little airbender and then back to the growing, undisguiseable grin on Toph's face. You could almost see Zuko's heart sink into his stomach as his gaze shifted in distress to Aang. Again, his eyes met Sokka's and darted off. They HAD to quit doing that, Sokka thought, his gaze falling to the table below him.

After a moment of thought, Aang looked up excitedly and then back and forth between the two older boys, his pep visibly waning. "That's not a problem, is it?"

"No," Zuko answered instinctively; the second he said it, he wanted to smack himself. YES, it was a problem! NO, he couldn't let Aang know that. And he certainly couldn't let him down. How could he let Aang think that there was a problem with him working together with Sokka? He liked Sokka.

NO. No, he didn't LIKE Sokka. He... Tolerated Sokka. As a teammate. Against the firelord.

...This would not be easy.

Sokka stood dumbstruck at the opposite end of the table as Aang began rattling off all the things they would each be doing that day and took a deep breath.

Something in the air was changing.

And he wasn't sure he liked it.


	4. Chapter 4

I know, I'm so slow. I just started classes when I intended on finishing this, so I got very distracted and busy all the sudden. But here we go!

* * *

"So."

The two of them sat almost a full four yards apart, each on his own rock, staring at the ground infront of him. They had pushed out into the forest and were today in charge of gathering firewood. This was not their only task of course. But today? One thing at a time.

Zuko had his back against a tree and his arms crossed too tight against his chest. Sokka continued to stare at the ground infront of him, ignoring the address as if Zuko hadn't made it.

Zuko looked up at Sokka, unblinking and unamused. He tried again. "...SO."

Finally, Sokka looked up. Maybe they should just go ahead and get this over with. Yeah, that was good. The faster they got their work done, the faster they could get the hell out of each other's sights. When his eyes met Zuko's he felt his face heat, and swallowed hard to push his anxiety back down.

"So, we should gather firewood now?" He said hopefully.

"Yes," Zuko said too quickly, standing up and letting his arms drop to his sides just as fast. "Yes, we should."

Sokka stood, too. "Yes, perfect. Firewood time."

"Mhmm."

It grew quiet again, and they stared at each other across the small clearing. Finally Sokka turned for the nearest tree. "Let's get started!" He said, lifting Boomerang high above his head.

Zuko stared at him blankly. "...Sokka."

The voice made him jump. Sokka didn't turn back toward him to answer. "What?"

"You've never actually done this before, have you?"

"WHAT? Gathered FIREWOOD?" Sokka turned, shocked, flabbergasted at the very thought, before he realized that, no, in fact, he hadn't. His face flushed again. "Umm, no, not really."

Zuko laughed and approached him slowly. "We don't actually chop down trees," he said smiling. "Healthy living branches are hard to burn. We just need to go out into the forest and pick up dead branches and logs."

"Oh..." Sokka rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I knew that. I was just... testing you."

Zuko chuckled, unsheathing one of the dual swords strapped to his back. "Well I passed. Let's get going."

The fire prince pushed forward into the trees before Sokka could answer. Sokka followed quickly behind.

They looked in seperate places, but always nearby each other for the first few hours. There wasn't much on the edges of the forest, but when they got further in, kindlin became much easier to find. It was warm out that day, and the trees broke the sunlight into small rays around the area. There was enough light to be bright, but everything seemed green and cool despite the heat outside of the forest.

Sokka found himself working hard to face away from Zuko at any given time. He couldn't face him. It was too weird. Why was it weird? Because it was Zuko. Why was Zuko weird? BECAUSE HE WAS ZUKO. What was Toph even trying to pull? There was no way they could be any less than awkward, it was just better if they avoided each other. Obviously, as last night had proven to them.

Nothing good could come from being friends with such a sourpuss.

"What did you burn when you lived in the South Pole?"

The voice was startlingly close. Sokka turned on his heel only to find Zuko was about three feet from him. The branches in his arms began to slip, but he managed to regain his grip and jar them back up safely.

"What?" was all he could manage to say, dumbfounded. Zuko noticed how full his arms were and slouched the basket from his back down his arm. He turned to his side and offered it toward Sokka for the firewood.

"Well, I noticed when..." Zuko stopped short, his ears reddening and his eyes dropping to the basket. "...when I was there, there aren't any trees or anything. Yet you still had firepits. What did you burn to keep them going?"

Sokka shifted the bundle in his arms and began sliding sections of it into the basket. "Usually fish and polarseal oil. Polarseals have the best oil, and it's easier to collect than fish oil, but they're a lot harder to hunt."

To his surprise, Zuko's eyes widened. "Polar seals are hard to hunt? They're just little things, though, how could they be hard to catch?"

Sokka was shocked at how interested Zuko was. "W-well, they have surprisingly good hearing, and they can push off the ice and slide into the water a lot faster than you'd think. They're pretty friendly generally, but the packs near our village had learned to avoid the hunters when they came near." He smiled, remembering his first time seal hunting. "But it feels so great when you catch them! One of the adults can keep a hut lit for half a season."

Zuko nodded, shifting the basket to knock the sticks deeper into it. "I never realized how hard it is for other nations to get fire."

"That's right, _Sparky_! Not all of us can make FIRE come out of our FINGERTIPS," Sokka sneered, wiggling is fingers in Zuko's face. Zuko swatted them away and turned to beeline for another scattering of twigs.

"Yeah. I know."

A burst of pride welled up in the watertribe. He couldn't help but puff out his chest and raise his nose into the air, forgetting about the firewood and basking in this moment. "Yes, sir, us Watertribe men are hard workers through all the seasons."

"Tell me more about it."

He stopped; turned slowly. He felt his jaw slack slightly as he stared at Zuko's back, hunched over to the ground where he was gathering up twigs.

"Huh?" Sokka felt his face grow hot. As Zuko started to turn back toward him, he looked away quickly and focused on a nearby tree. Zuko spoke up, louder and clearer this time.

"Tell me more about the watertribe. About your people."

"R-right now?" Sokka's 'watertribe man' voice had become more like a watertribe mouse's.

The birds became louder in the trees. Leaves rustled noisily in the wind like a hurricane was blowing through, but Sokka barely even felt the wind. His eyes gave in and drifted back to Zuko, who was looking around him with a low hum buzzing in his throat.

"Not yet," he finally said, looking back to Sokka's face, his own serious as usual. "I think we should get this firewood back to the temple before we do anything else."

* * *

I'm sorry if this is a totally weak chapter, but I'm working on where I wanna go with it! I promise. I'll get back to the better writing.

So sorry for a boring chapter! It'll pick up in the next one!


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